The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for areas of the north and north-east as an Atlantic storm sweeps over Scotland.
Forecasters warned that some parts of the country could see a month’s rainfall today alone.
A low pressure system moving in from the Atlantic is expected to create ‘unseasonably windy’ and wet conditions.
The yellow warning for disruption is covering many parts of the Highlands and Grampian areas.
A Met Office spokesman said: “Showers will affect northern Scotland this afternoon, where some of these may become heavy and slow moving with a risk of some torrential downpours.
“Not everywhere in the warning area will see the heaviest of the rain with some places remaining dry. Showers will ease later this evening.
“Please be aware that some low level disruption may occur due to localised flooding.”
The Met Office’s cheif forecaster said: “An area of low pressure will drift eastwards into western Scotland later today, with bands of rain, locally heavy, within its circulation.
“Ahead of this, showers are expected to break out, becoming heavy and possibly prolonged in places across more northern parts of Scotland this afternoon and into the evening. A few locations could see as much as 20 mm of rain within an hour and 40 mm within 3 hours.”